Soul Phrase
by Cantella
Summary: Souji walks home from a jog one day to find that someone is following him. Turns out its the boy that Margaret's sister left to free; Arisato Minato. And it turns out that he lost his memories too. Summer vacation is over, after all. SoujixMina
1. Opening Act

Maybe he was just being paranoid. Maybe he was slowly going crazy from all that Shadow fighting. Maybe all that social link juggling has made his brain go haywire.

Call him whatever you want, but he felt like someone was following him.

Souji Seta was simply walking down his usual jogging route early in the evening. He greeted the usual neighbours and small children walking home after playing at the playground. It wasn't until he began walking back to his house that he felt someone else's presence following him in his footsteps.

It's been around half a year since he left Inaba and the self-proclaimed Investigation Team. He still kept in touch with them (especially Yosuke, who always found the time to call him), sure, but it wasn't anything like being with them in person. Since then, he's become better at talking to people and opening himself up to them.

But then why is he so apprehensive about this one, small guy?

At one point, Souji managed to quickly glance at a road mirror placed for people to avoid traffic to see his self-proclaimed stalker. It was a boy his age, maybe younger considering his small frame and slightly-childish face. To be honest, he thought it was Naoto following him for a second. He chuckled inwardly at the thought then instantly snapped himself back into his current situation.

He obviously can't lead this guy to his house, though that was his original course of action. Even if he does live in an apartment with decent security, he wasn't going to risk it, especially when he was home alone while his parents were out working late (again).

So what could he do? He bit his lip, contemplating as to whether to go to the police station or not. He wasn't sure if this guy meant any harm or not, but he should still go there if, say, he was some lost tourist. Souji felt satisfied with his decision and turned to his new destination, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible and get some rest. He has been working up a sweat, after all.

"Hey."

Souji froze, taking him a few seconds to slowly turn to look at the boy. Perhaps he shouldn't call him a boy, since the guy certainly looked old enough to grow out of that specification. But we're getting off topic here.

His stalker, after a getting a better look at him, had dark, midnight blue hair, with a rather long fringe partly covering his right eye. He wore a simple white collared shirt and black pants, having nothing else but a neat ribbon tied under his collar as well as a lanyard connected to his mp3 player resting on his shoulders. He adjusted a schoolbag over his shoulder and stared at Souji with his stone grey eyes.

"….." "….."

The younger (?) of the two broke the silence "Isn't your house that way?" he asked, pointing to the direction of Souji's apartment, the same one of which they just turned away from. Souji raised an eyebrow and watched him warily.

"How do you know where I live?" Souji asked, ready to push the other over and make a run for it should anything occur. He wasn't about to pick a fight; he'd rather keep violence to a minimum in a residential area. The other simply shrugged, though noticing Souji's stiffening. "A woman dressed in blue gave me this bag and told me to follow you to your house and stay there." He explained, patting his bag with his other hand, looking a little blank and confused.

Souji's eyes widened, a woman in blue? It was most probably Margaret, and if that's so, then maybe he should trust this guy. He went through a whole year receiving help from the blue-clad assistant, usually help that benefitted him well, so maybe he should trust her judgement and let this guy come to his apartment. He still wasn't sure if they were talking about the same woman, but so far it seemed like the guy meant no ill harm; to Souji, at least.

But first, "Well, uh, do you have a name?" Souji asked, feeling a bit dim after asking such a stupid question, and probably one that sounded offensive. But then again, he's been dealing with people so well lately, especially since going to Inaba, so why is he suddenly so awkward?

The younger of the two frowned, "…I don't know if I do."

_What?_

Souji simply stared at him. That was a weird answer. Usually people would give out their names to a simple question like that, right? Or maybe it was the way he asked him? Or maybe this guy really was as suspicious as he previously deemed him to be. Nontheless, Souji tried again, not moving from his spot.

"So where did you come from?" "I don't know."

"Do you know the woman in blue?" "Maybe. I can't remember."

"How about your age? How old are you?" "I don't know."

Souji became frustrated, something he almost never did with people, especially ones he's just met. "Do you know anything about yourself?" he asked with a sigh, rubbing at his temples, wishing he could just find some way to trust this guy and get this over with so he can go back and take a nice, long, relaxing shower-

"Persona."

Startled, Souji turned to fully face the unnamed boy. He hasn't heard that word in while, but then why would this guy know about it? Was he a Persona user too? That would probably explain why he knew Margaret (he's pretty sure it was Margaret) and was told to follow him.

The younger of the two clutched at his bag with both hands, looking at his feet. "Ever since I met that woman in blue, that word has been circling in my head. Persona, persona, persona, it's as if there's a voice in my head chanting it." he looked confused, scared, even, and clutched at his bag tighter. "Sometimes I see flashes of faces I've never met, but I feel like I know them. I keep trying and trying to remember who they are, but…" his voice trailed off, and he continued staring at his feet, resembling a lost puppy.

Souji felt sorry for him. It sounded like he's been through a lot, and to not remember important things must be really frustrating. And to be involved in Personas must mean he's somehow related to the Velvet Room, and the teen felt that that was all he needed. Souji outstretched his hand to the other, who looked up in surprise. He smiled a little, offering his hand.

The blue-haired boy looked at his own hand, slowly bringing it up to meet with the others'. He looked down immediately as the other teen's fingers grasped lightly onto his. It was pretty awkward, to be honest. To be holding hands with another guy was something he never thought he'd do (that one time he hugged Yosuke was awkward enough), but he was used to dealing with people, and he was used to doing things for them, things he never thought he would do. This time was no different.

Holding hands with him was just a way of reassuring him that he wasn't alone.

He tucked his pride into the back of his head and gave whatever support he could to the blue-haired stranger as they began to walk to Souji's apartment, hand in hand. Souji hummed a little to try and ease his embarrassment. He could feel the other fumbling with his hand as he held it and he couldn't help but think that it was cute. It was as if he was holding hands with a child who has never held hands with anyone other than his parents before.

"Um, hey." Came a small voice, and Souji stopped, looking at the other boy, still unnamed. The blue-haired boy flushed a little after gaining eye contact, probably just as embarrassed as Souji was about the hand-holding. "Yes?" Souji asked, inwardly chuckling at how awkward the other boy was and how innocent his actions seemed.

"You know how…the voice chants in my head? It said something different just now; a name, probably. I'm not sure if it's mine, but you can call me by that if you want." He fumbled with his captured hand, still flushing a little but refusing to show it.

"Oh? What is it?" Souji asked, happy to finally have a name to call the younger boy. He waited patiently for the other to speak. The blue-haired boy had closed his eyes, trying to remember each syllable, and spoke.

"Arisato Minato."

* * *

**Hello everyone! It's been a while, hasn't it? **

**This idea has been circling my head for a couple of months now, and I've decided to finally write it down. SoujixMinato is an otherwise rare pairing due to them being in separate games, therefore I have the need to contribute! The first chapter is rather short, and I'm sorry for that, but I wanted it to end where it ended. This will be the start of another multi-chapter fic, so please look forward to it! I'll try my best, yosh!  
**

**Thank you very much for reading!**

**-Cantella, 2010.**

**EDIT: Corrected and added a few more things because I derp'd (2011)**


	2. Between Doors

"Okay, Minato here's the deal," Souji started, looking at Minato seriously, "If you see my parents when they come back, or in the morning, just say that you're a friend from school and you're sleeping over, alright?" Minato blinked, a little irritated that he was interrupted from looking through Souji's CDs.

"Yeah, sure." He nodded, looking back at the CDs. Souji didn't have much, but it was fun looking through them. If there was one thing Minato remembered, it was that he absolutely loved music. In the bag he was given were clothes, toiletries and an mp3 player full of songs, all of which he loved instantly and played again and again.

"Do you want to have a bath first?" Souji asked only receiving a 'mmm' in return. After a few minutes of trying to get Minato's attention, he resigned to having a bath first. He was tired after his jog, after all. Curse Margaret for having to push this onto him without any prior notice!

Minato stopped looking through Souji's CDs and began to undo his headphone wires, wanting to listen to that one track he always listened to. Souji grabbed his change of clothes and asked Minato again whether he wanted to have a bath first, him being the 'guest', but received low humming in reply. He smiled a little and left for the bathroom, clothes and towel in hand.

'_He seems like a nice guy'_ he thought, closing the door and setting his things down. _'A little quiet and distant, but who am I to judge?'_ he chuckled, turning on the tap and letting the water run. _'His aura…it feels different. It's dark, but it doesn't feel like that's a bad thing.'_ Souji shook his head and decided not to think about it too much. He just met the guy after all.

When he returned, drying off his hair as he walked (his fringe is getting longer, he thought, maybe he should get it cut sometime), he saw something he definitely did not expect to see.

Minato sat in the same position he was in when Souji left him, aiming a gun to his temple with his eyes closed. He breathed evenly and mumbled a few syllables, about to pull the trigger when Souji threw his towel aside and tackled him, making Minato drop the gun and Souji slapping it across the room. Souji held Minato down, each of his hands clamping Minato's arms down, glaring at him as he panted at the sudden movement.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Souji exclaimed, probably a little louder than he intended as he saw Minato wincing at his every word. "I know that it's hard for you and that it's frustrating that you don't know anything about yourself or where you came from, but that's no excuse to try _killing yourself_!" he shouted, clearly angry at the blue haired guest.

Minato kept silent, his lip trembling. "….I'm sorry." He whispered, his apology sincere. Souji's expression softened, but he didn't move. "'Sorry' isn't enough for what you did, Minato. If you have problems, or if you just want to talk to someone, I'm here. Just…Just tell me, alright?" Minato nodded slowly, his lip trembling even more, as if he wanted to cry, but he didn't.

Souji sighed, letting go of him and letting Minato sit up, patting him on the shoulder as he did. Souji stood and walked over to where the gun slid, picking it up and mumbling, "Where did you even get this from…". He checked the bullet cartridge and to his surprise, found no ammo inside. He looked at Minato, who looked back at him blankly.

"…Were you just playing around with an empty gun?" Souji asked, feeling a bit awkward that he got so worked up before. Minato shook his head, "I found that gun in my bag. When I picked it up, the voice in my head told me to shoot myself with it." He glanced at the gun, "I admit, I didn't check whether it had bullets or not. I just…I don't know. I felt like I didn't have anything to lose."

Souji sighed, hiding the gun away so Minato wouldn't find it. He took one of his old shirts and a new towel and leaded Minato to the bathroom along with his toiletries and a new pair of boxers.

While Minato showered, Souji walked to the closet and took out a futon they kept for guests. He carried it over to his room and set it down, smoothing out the blankets and throwing a pillow onto it.

Minato showered quickly and walked into Souji's room, hair slightly messy due his towel-drying. He glanced at the futon laid out for him and thanked the other, sitting down on it and getting ready to sleep. Souji was about to do the same on his own bed when he heard the front door close and familiar voices resounding down the hall. He brushed it off and was about to pull the covers over himself when Minato suddenly spoke.

"Those are your parent's voices…right?" Minato asked from below, his voice so small he could barely hear it. "Yeah. Sorry if they're disturbing you from sleeping. They usually come back really late." He glanced at the futon laid out next to his bed, Minato smiling a little with his eyes closed.

Minato shook his head, "No, its not disturbing at all. It's just…" He looked at Souji, smiling sadly, "I can't remember my own parents, if I even had any, so I guess you could say that I'm a little jealous of you." Souji's eyes softened, staying silent as they both listened to Souji's parents talk in the kitchen. Souji felt a little guilty, to be honest. He's had times where he felt neglected and lonely since his parents worked late hours, but at least he _had_ parents who cared for him. While he mulled pessimistically about how he barely saw his parents, Minato dealt with not even _knowing_ them. Maybe they passed away, maybe they abandoned him, Minato himself didn't even know.

After a while, Minato's breathing evened and Souji was sure he was asleep. Souji closed his own eyes, and did the same.

"Good night, Minato."

* * *

"Welcome to the Velvet Room."

Souji jolted at the sudden greeting. After a few moments of collecting himself, he noticed that he was no longer in his room. He recognized the setting as the limousine he would always end up in the year before. Except, it wasn't a limousine.

He fidgeted in his chair a little bit, looking around the room. It appeared to be a large elevator, judging by the moving structures at the back of the table in front of him. Cracks of light would shine through occasionally, but they weren't bright enough for Souji to wince every time they shone. A large clock was mounted on the bars separating the room from the outside structures, its hands constantly moving with no indication of stopping.

After surveying his surroundings, he looked tiredly at the three figures in front of him. Behind the table sat Igor, of course, and next to him was Margaret as well as another woman dressed in blue.

"It's a pleasure to see you again." Margaret continued, her eyes softening. Souji nodded, still a little sleepy. "I apologize for disturbing you from your sleep, but this matter is of utmost importance." Margaret nodded to Igor, who had his fingers laced together, his smirk partially hidden behind his long nose.

"Of course. As you can see, Elizabeth has once again returned to her original post." Igor gestured to the other girl next to him, who smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. "Margaret will also be performing the same duties alongside her. Now," Igor leaned forward, his smirk not fading a bit even though his tone of voice grew serious.

"We have never had two hosts at the same time, but this is a rather special matter. Elizabeth here has, as you know, gone to free the boy who 'slumbers at the end of the world' over the past year, and succeeded. I believe Margaret has told you of the fairy tale regarding this after your duel."

Souji blinked. That was quite a bit all at once. But he was still a little confused. "Not to be rude, but what do I have to do with it?" he asked, leaning out of his chair slightly. Igor smirked (but then again, he _always _smirked. Creepy.) and Elizabeth smiled calmly in return.

"Well, the boy I have retrieved…you seem to have already met him." And she gestured gracefully-almost dreamily- at the space next to him. Souji blinked, and almost jumped out of his skin when he saw that another chair was placed next to his, which he was pretty sure wasn't there before. On that chair sat no other that Minato, who slept soundly in his upright position.

"Wait… this is the 'boy' you were talking about?" Souji asked, staring at Minato's sleeping form. He suspected that Minato would be involved with the Velvet Room and Personas, but he didn't expect him to be such an important figure. To think that such a quiet, music-loving, unsuspecting guy like him would hold such a role is simply baffling.

Margaret nodded, "Precisely. To be honest, he is much younger than what I expected him to be. Or perhaps that is just his outer appearance." Elizabeth smiled, "He does have a rather young face, I must admit. He is very mature and very much a gentleman, though to be honest I do not know much about him."

"He seems like he's lost his memories," Souji started, "Is there a reason for that?". Elizabeth darkened, her sister listening intently as to what she has to say. "Think of it as if…he has been rebirthed. I cannot explain it properly, but you will learn of it eventually. Both of you will."

Souji wanted to ask more questions, but a lump in his throat prevented him from doing so. "I request that you do not use his name, or perhaps his full name, in public. It would be best that no one knows who he really is."

"I look forward to your next visit."

* * *

"Sorry, could you say that again?" Souji asked, grinning so wide that his cheeks hurt.

"Souji, I've already said this five times. I know you're happy, but please, I need to get to work early today." Souji's mother sighed as she put on her shoes, briefcase in hand. "Your father left early this morning to collect the papers, so he's doing a lot for you. Make sure to thank him when he gets back, alright?" Souji nodded, his grin not fading.

Last night's dream has been on his mind for the better part of that morning. He stayed in bed long after he had woken up, trying to make sense of what he has been told, all the while stealing glances at Minato as he slept, completely oblivious to Souji's thoughts. Or dreams, for that matter. He finally rolled out of bed after his mother called for him, saying she wants to tell him something. And that pretty much brightened up his whole morning, day and week. He saw his mother off and closed the door, then ran to his room excitedly.

He picked up his cellphone and dialed Yosuke's number. It's a little too early to call, but this was far too exciting for him to wait. In all his excitement, he didn't notice Minato grumbling at him for waking him up, especially at 7 in the morning.

"Hello?", mumbled a sleepy Yosuke on the other side. "Dude, it's 7am on a _Saturday_, what the hell are you even doing up-"

"Yeah, yeah, sorry about that, but this is really important!" Souji cut in, clearly too excited to care about his default calm exterior. "I'm listening," came the sleepy answer, followed by a long yawn.

"I'm moving back to Inaba!"

* * *

**I'm so sorry for the late update! It's been almost a month holy crappers;; **

**I've been busy with a lot of convention stuff, so please bear with me! Thank you for reading, reviewing and adding me/this fic to favorites or alerts!  
**

**-Cantella, 2010  
**


	3. Interstice of Time

"Now, Souji, remember to be good to your uncle Dojima."

"Yes, mother."

"And make sure to help with chores and stay out of trouble."

"Yes, mother-look, mother, I appreciate you taking time off work to send me off, but the train is going to leave if I don't go soon." Souji fingered his bags nervously, his other hand fingering the ticket in his pocket to make sure it's still there. He was being paranoid, he knew, but he couldn't help it. He was excited, and he didn't want anything to go wrong on his trip back to the small rural town of Inaba.

Mrs. Seta smiled tiredly, obviously taking a toll from the long hours at work. She kissed Souji on the cheek and bid him farewell, while his father gave him a one-armed hug and told him to be good. Souji smiled and began to walk away, waving at them as he did. It was nice when he had little family moments like these, so he had to treasure them when he could.

As he passed a pillar, a figure casually fell in to step next to him, his own bag in hand. Souji offered a small smile.

"Got your ticket, Minato?" he asked, earning a nod (or a small headbang, he wasn't sure) in return. Minato had his headphones on, as usual, and wore a pale beige turtleneck with a dark grey coat, also found in his bag. He flashed his train ticket at Souji to reassure him and went back to jamming to his favorite tunes. To be honest, wearing headphones in another's company should be considered rude in other circumstances, but Minato looked far too into his music for Souji to have the heart to interrupt him. His love for music was the only thing Minato could grasp onto as a form of identity, so he replayed the tunes as many times as he could, and Souji believed that that was the least he deserved.

Minato hummed softly as he walked alongside him, the timing in his steps changing occasionally. It didn't take long for Souji to realize that he was timing his steps according to the beat he was listening to, sometimes going off beat when he glanced over at Souji's slightly worn grey sneakers. Souji suppressed a chuckle and continued walking down the busy station, occasionally grabbing hold of Minato's arm when the crowd swept them apart. The last thing he wanted was for the blue-haired boy to get lost and put all his stressing and planning to waste.

Souji had gotten his enrollment papers a few weeks before he departed, but even in all his excitement, he was still concerned as to what to do with Minato. Minato clearly had nowhere else to go other than to follow him, but that meant setting up an identity for him without using his real name, and that was bound to be difficult. Buying an extra ticket was no hassle, excluding the disapproving looks Minato gave him when he didn't let him pay from his own pocket. His 'pocket' being Elizabeth deciding to be generous and sticking Minato with an obese wallet of 500,000 yen, of which was in his bag, wrapped inside his coat. Souji joked about his bag being similar to Doraemon's pocket and received a heavy wallet smacked into his face.

Days passed and Souji still had no idea what to do. Minato would most likely have to attend Yasogami, or at least get a job, but without an identity card or even a birth certificate, there's no way he can. Plus, what's more suspicious than a 16 year old boy who refuses to give his name and has no means of identifying himself?

Just when he was about to abandon all hope and make a ridiculous fake ID out of frustration, he received a letter.

_It was a cold morning, a sign that winter was just around the corner. His parents were at work, and Minato was happily lounging in front of his television, a cup of hot tea by his side as he watched yet another music documentary. Souji had a headache and poured himself a cup of tea as well, walking up to the front door to check for the daily newspaper. His sock-covered feet padded the glossy wooden floors, not disturbing Minato's viewing pleasure in the slightest. _

_As Souji tugged the newspaper free of the mail slot on his apartment door, a blue envelope slipped through as well, landing perfectly on the ground in front of him. Curious, he tucked the newspaper under his arm and picked up the letter, drawn to the familiar blue glow to it. He turned it over to open it, and instead of the usual plain glue to seal it, a perfect, blue wax stamp was in its place, its crest picturing a clock._

_Classy._

_He opened it carefully on his kitchen counter, flipping open the fancy envelope to reveal the answer to all his problems; an identification card in Minato's name, written in different kanji. The blue-haired boy's picture was already printed onto the card as well. Souji was trembling in excitement, almost scared that he would snap the card in half. He set the card down on the counter and found a sheet of paper inside the envelope. He flipped it open._

_'Dear Seta Souji,_

_It has come to our attention that our guests are to depart for another location in the near future. Therefore we have put it upon ourselves to attach what your world defines as an 'identification card' for our other guest, Arisato Minato. We believe this will aid you in your journey._

_We request for one thing, however; under no circumstances should you let our guest Arisato Minato into the Dark Hour. It is in both parties' interests that he does not involve himself, or let himself be involved._

_We wish you a safe journey._

_The Velvet Room'_

Souji sighed, trying to concentrate on walking to the correct platform and keeping Minato close to him. The identification card helped a lot, though Souji had to lie quite a bit to explain why he had the card in the first place, as well as why it was done without Minato actually being present.

_"It fell out of your bag when I was packing up the futon; guess it really is like a Doraemon pocket, huh?"_

He was sure Minato was still suspicious of the bag that somehow spewed all the things he needed; Minato wasn't stupid. He was grateful that Minato let it slide, though somewhere in the back of his head he was cursing Margaret and Elizabeth for making his life so much harder. Couldn't they have just consulted with him beforehand so that he wouldn't have to make all these excuses? He didn't particularly enjoy lying.

Also, what the heck is the Dark Hour?

"Souji," Minato called, taking off his headphones, "Are you okay? You're spacing out a little. Also," he pointed towards a particularly empty gate, with a bright yellow sign above it, "You walked past our gate. It's over there." Souji flushed slightly, gritting his teeth.

_'Screw this'_ he thought, grabbing Minato's arm as they trudged through the crowd of people, _'Everything is alright for now. I've been waiting for this trip; to see uncle Dojima, Nanako, the investigation team…'_ he smiled to himself, excitedly clutching onto Minato's hand a little harder as he did so. He walked a little faster towards their gate, unable to hear Minato's complaints about the speed (or the hand-holding, he couldn't tell).

As they reached their gate, number 8, a gust of wind hit them as their train sped towards the platform. Minato held onto his bag, afraid it'd fall off and clutched onto Souji's hand, his hair becoming mussed from the strong pressure of the wind. Souji grinned widely, his excitement from the day he received the news of his transfer returning at full force.

And to Inaba they went.

* * *

**I'm so, so sorry for the late update! **

**Chapter 3 is a little filler-ish, but it's going somewhere, I promise. I feel like my writing went in different directions in this chapter, and I apologize if it ruined the chapter for you. Reviews are much appreciated! **

**Thank you all so, so much for the reviews, favorites and alerts! I'll do my best!  
**

**-Cantella, 2011.**


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